Since his drowning in Fos-sur-Mer, the Sluc no longer takes on water outside. Nancy has made five trips, each time against top teams. The average difference of the five defeats? 5 dots! But it didn’t bring him a penny. Since November 18, the Sluc has not obtained anything from his travels and is following a relegation trajectory.
On Friday, Kyle Vinales’ replacement played his sixth league game with Sluc. However, the production of the American leader leaves skeptical. It’s not so much his offensive statistics that are in question (9.3 points; 27.3% from three points, 3.3 assists in 22 minutes), as the way he leads the team: without putting enough pace .
“Fifteen days that will be long”
This is what coach Sylvain Lautié pointed out: “We are not accelerating with the right people. You can’t play at that pace in Europe. The playmaker must give impetus. He (Frank Mason) is learning. And if he has to sit on the bench to be good, he will start on the bench. Sometimes you have to prick the players in their ego”. It is assumed that the message also passed from man to man.
The delay in the match against Dijon, initially scheduled for March 17 and postponed to April 18, will cause a fifteen-day break in the Sluc calendar. Before the sequence of two new trips which will be very expensive in the race to maintain (in Nanterre on March 25, then in Blois on March 28). Fifteen days during which the Sluc will have to live with a new defeat on the conscience. Not to mention that the surprise victory of Fos-sur-Mer in Dijon on Friday (95-97) is not likely to console Nancy more than ever in the red zone.
“We’re going to have fifteen days which are going to be long… to prepare for four important days”, summed up Sylvain Lautié, “it’s going to be long, it’s going to increase in intensity and tension. You will have to be ready”.